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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592140">Marigolds // Orange</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/diaryofageekgirl/pseuds/diaryofageekgirl'>diaryofageekgirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020: A Rainbow Bouquet [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural, Wayward Sisters - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Collage, Cover Art, Dancing, F/F, Femslash February, Fix-It, Prom, Sharing a Bed, kind of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:53:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/diaryofageekgirl/pseuds/diaryofageekgirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She didn’t hear her name whispered by the first and only person she’s ever loved, as her hearing had already left her. Her sight followed, blurring before fading to blackness, and she knew no more.</p><p> </p><p>Then, two weeks later, she woke up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020: A Rainbow Bouquet [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1621381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Marigolds // Orange</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Something of a fix-it fic for 13x10 "Wayward Sisters".</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p>She was running. They all were – running toward a tear in the universe. Her feet pounded against the ground, her heart pounding alongside in her chest. She could hear the snarls of monsters all around them, hungering and impatient. They were close now, so close.</p><p>She turned and saw a figure in the shadows. She knew, somehow, how dangerous they were. Her feet pushed her forward on instinct alone, her arms pushed the other girl aside just as instinctually; she had to protect her, had to keep her safe.</p><p>She didn’t even feel the spear pierce her side until she fell to the ground. Her breath was coming in labored and ragged – she knew she wouldn’t be breathing for much longer. She reached her hand out to the other girl, felt her take it in hers, so forcefully that she could feel her demands to stay alive through their touching palms. She didn’t hear her name whispered by the first and only person she’s ever loved, as her hearing had already left her. Her sight followed, blurring before fading to blackness, and she knew no more.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>Then, two weeks later, she woke up.</p>
<hr/><p>The first thing Kaia became aware of was someone else’s hand holding hers. She felt their fingers squeezing hers tightly. She tried to reciprocate, but her hand remained stubbornly still. She blearily opened her eyes, taking in the sterile white walls and tile ceiling of the room, heard the beeping of machines and felt the scratch of cheap blankets. Not quite fully awake yet, she dumbly wondered how the hell she ended up in a hospital – she was fairly sure they didn’t exist in the Bad Place. The hand holding hers squeezed again, and she turned to look to her right.</p><p>“Kaia?” Somehow, in the time that she had been unconscious, she had forgotten how beautiful Claire was. She was hovering over Kaia, staring at her intensely, like she was scared she was going to disappear – which, all things considered, wasn’t exactly an unreasonable fear. Kaia caught her eyes and tried to smile, but considering how weak her muscles felt, she was pretty sure it came out more like a grimace. Claire reached out with her other hand and framed Kaia’s hand between both of hers.</p><p>“Are you okay? Alex said you were stable but after you were –” she cut herself off. She tipped her head as a wry expression flashed across her face, and started again. “After what happened in the Bad Place I didn’t believe her.”</p><p>“I think I’m alright.” Then again, she was probably on all kinds of painkillers and wouldn’t be able to tell either way. “What happened, anyways? The last thing I remember was that, that person throwing the spear, and then…”</p><p>Claire took a deep breath, then began talking. She told Kaia that shortly after she died, she and the Winchesters discovered that the person who killed her was, in fact, herself.</p><p>“Or, another version of you, I guess? Dean and Sam told us about a case they had a few years ago, one of their friends got split into, like, the good and bad halves of herself. As far as we can tell, this was the same kind of thing – the two sides needed to be merged back together, but for that to happen, one half had to…you know.” She gestured vaguely with a hand.</p><p>About a week and a half after their excursion to the Bad Place – three days before Kaia woke up – Alex had frantically called Jody; she found Kaia on the side of the road on her way to work, and ended up bringing her with her to the hospital.</p><p>“And then, here we are.” Kaia smiled softly up at Claire; she could tell she was trying to downplay how much she was affected by everything that had happened. She could see the tears shimmering in her eyes, and watched as one slipped down her cheek. Claire brushed it away, straightening up and plastering a wobbly smile on her face. “Here, let me call the others; they’ll want to know you’re awake.”</p>
<hr/><p>Over the next week, Kaia got to know Claire’s ragtag little family pretty well. Jody came by right after Claire called her that first day, bringing food and a big fluffy sweater with her</p><p>“Trust me, kiddo; I’ve been hospitalized enough times to know the two worst things are the food and the clothes.”</p><p>Patience came by to see her a couple of days later, apologizing profusely for her death, and her misinterpretation of the vision she had that had led to it. No matter how much Kaia told her that it wasn’t her fault, she could tell that Patience was still horrifically guilty. Alex also stopped in at least once a day; she told Kaia that the head nurse had agreed to let her be in charge of taking care of her while she was there.</p><p>And Claire was there by her side every day, only leaving when Alex chased her out to get food or when visiting hours were over. The two of them talked for hours; Claire telling her about her parents and Castiel, Kaia telling her about Derek Swan, and how he tried to teach her to use her powers. Claire told her about hunts she had taken on, and the two of them traded ideas back and forth about places they'd like to visit. They talked about everything they had experienced in their lives, and everything that their lives had prevented them from experiencing.</p><p>It was on one of these days that Claire leaned over her bed and kissed her for the first time.</p>
<hr/><p>Kaia was released from Sioux Falls General Hospital one week after she woke up. Alex took care of all the paperwork to get her discharged, and would take her to Jody’s house where she could stay until she figured out what she wanted to do.</p><p>“Or you could just stay there. Jody’s already got three of us wayward girls under her roof, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind one more.” Alex had a duffle bag full of new clothes for Kaia over her shoulder, but instead of giving it to her, she passed Kaia a tall garment bag. Kaia reached out to take it from her, looking at it with a bemused expression before turning that same look on Alex.</p><p>“What’s this for?”</p><p>Alex grinned at her. “It’s a surprise; just put it on,” she said, nodding at the bag.</p><p>Kaia opened up the garment bag to reveal a long dark blue dress. It was simple in design, with no glitter or embroidery or other embellishments, but it was elegant, and certainly nicer than anything that she had ever owned before. Alex turned around, giving Kaia some privacy to slip it on. There was also a pair of strappy black heels in the bottom of the bag, and a matching black choker to wear around her throat. She shifted around nervously – she had never worn anything as nice as this, and she didn’t like feeling so exposed, with her shoulders and arms uncovered and the bodice fitting to her torso. She cleared her throat to let Alex know she could turn back around.</p><p>“Are we ready to go now?” Alex gave her a quick once over, then flashed her a thumbs up and a smile in approval. The two of them walked out to Alex’s car together. Alex was tapping away at her phone, occasionally glancing at Kaia, which only served to pique her curiosity more. They settled into the car and drove out of the parking lot. As they drove to Jody’s, Kaia tried to surreptitiously glance at Alex’s phone.</p><p>“You wanna know what’s going on?” Alex raised an eyebrow at her; she flushed, embarrassed by how obvious she had been. She nodded jerkily, and Alex chuckled softly. “Patience is visiting some friends from her old hometown over the weekend. Jody and Donna are up at the cabin, and I have to head back to work once I drop you off. You two will have the whole house to yourselves.”</p><p>“For what? Alex, that doesn’t explain anything! What’s with the dress? Why are you being so secretive?” Kaia realized she sounded whiny, but she wasn’t a big fan of being kept in the dark. Alex only chuckled again.</p><p>“Like I said, it’s a surprise. Claire made us promise not to tell.” They pulled up in Jody’s driveway; Alex unlocked the door to the car and passed Kaia her bags. “Oh, and if she tries to play it off like it wasn’t her idea, she’s full of crap. Have fun!” Kaia barely managed to get the car door shut behind her before Alex was pulling back out of the driveway to head back to the hospital. She stared for a moment at the spot where the car had just been, before huffing a laugh as she turned to walk up the sidewalk to the front door. She eased the door open and dropped her bags where she stood.</p><p>“Claire? Are you here?” She called into the house. It was only late afternoon, but the days got dark early in February, even in Sioux Falls, and there didn’t seem to be any lights on in the house. She heard a thump and a muttered curse from another room, and then heard Claire calling out.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m in the kitchen, just hang on a second…” She trailed off; Kaia heard more shuffling and bumping coming from in the other room. She raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“You okay? You sound kinda busy in there,” she called back. She heard Claire blow a raspberry from the kitchen and she laughed, harder than she could remember laughing since she was a kid.</p><p>“I’m fine! Yeesh, give me <em>some </em>credit,” Claire muttered back. “Alright, you can come in now!” Kaia cautiously stepped around the corner. There were a lot of things that could have awaited her in Jody’s kitchen: monsters, ghosts, another interdimensional rift,  some kind of cooking catastrophe – from what Claire had told her while she was recovering, her experience in the kitchen usually ended in destruction.</p><p>What she never would have dreamed to expect was streamers strung around the ceiling and the cabinets, blue and silver balloons perched in the corners of the room, a tiny disco ball sitting and spinning happily on the kitchen table, a giant banner with the word “PROM” written on it in huge block letters. A laptop was sitting open next to the disco ball, softly playing some gentle piano song. And Claire was standing in the middle of it all, dressed in a black tuxedo, her hair pulled back in several braids. On her breast sat a corsage of marigolds, making a splash of orange in an otherwise monochrome ensemble. She shuffled her weight from one foot to the other, looking at Kaia questioningly.</p><p>“Is this…okay? I know when we were talking while you were in the hospital, we both mentioned not being able to go to prom when we were in school, and I know it’s kinda corny.” Kaia would have responded, but she was a bit preoccupied with being breathless. Unfortunately, Claire took her silence the wrong way. “Sorry, is it too much? Shit, I knew this was a bad idea. We don’t have to do this, you can go get changed and I’ll just –”</p><p>“Claire!” Claire shut her mouth with an audible click, snapping her head up to Kaia and staring at her with wide eyes. Kaia smiled softly at her. “It’s okay. I love it.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Really.” She watched as Claire slowly relaxed, a smile slowly unfurling on her face. She turned to grab something off the table, then turned back to Kaia.</p><p>“Hold out your hand.” Kaia did, and Claire slipped a matching marigold corsage onto her wrist. Instead of dropping her hand when she was finished, she instead cradled it in both of hers, just  like she had at the hospital. Kaia was starting to wonder if her face was going to get permanently frozen with how much she was smiling today.</p><p>“Teach me to dance?” Claire looked back up at her face, and her lips curled up in a wry smirk.</p><p>“You bet.”</p>
<hr/><p>They danced for <em>hours</em>: sometimes they slow danced, talking over the soft music pouring from Claire’s laptop speakers; sometimes they jumped around and laughed like lunatics, barely able to be considered dancing; and one memorable song had Claire trying to teach her to do the cha-cha, which rapidly devolved into them giggling uncontrollably.</p><p>Eventually, though, they were both yawning more than they were talking, and even though Kaia felt like this night was magical, she knew it had to come to a close eventually. She leaned forward from where she was dancing with Claire, wrapping her arms around her neck and burrowing her face into the hollow of her throat. She felt more than heard Claire hum as she rested her chin on top of her head.</p><p>“I don’t want tonight to end, but I think I might –” she cut herself off with a huge yawn, “might just fall asleep standing up here. Alex mentioned there was a place for me to stay here?”</p><p>Claire didn’t say anything for a long minute; Kaia eventually pulled back a bit from their embrace so she could see her. Claire was biting her lip, a faint blush staining her pale cheeks.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>Claire shrugged awkwardly. “I mean, we do have the guest room that you could stay in, but I mean. Y’know. If you wanted, you could… stay with me?” Claire’s voice was so soft by the end that Kaia could barely hear the question. She leaned forward again to plant a gentle kiss on her girlfriend’s lips.</p><p>“I’d love to.”</p>
<hr/><p>The two of them climbed the stairs hand-in-hand. Claire directed her to her bedroom to let her get settled, then turned back to the bathroom for her nightly routine.</p><p>Kaia slipped into the room, dropping her bags on the chair by the door as she took in the room. Aside from the weapons and lore books, there wasn’t much there that really made it seem like it was Claire’s room. She did, however, notice a grey cat plushie propped up against the pillows on the bed. From what she remembered from scrolling Claire’s phone with her while in the hospital, she was pretty sure its name was Pusheen.</p><p>Kaia turned back to her bag and pulled out some pajamas for the night. She slipped out of the dress, carefully putting it back in the garment bag and hanging it in Claire’s closet; she could figure out a better place to put it later. She slipped the marigold corsage off of her wrist and placed it on the bedside table.</p><p>Just as she finished getting changed, Claire walked into the room, already dressed in her pajama shorts and tank top, her hair wet from her shower. Kaia watched as she hung her tuxedo up in the closet, right up against her dress, and dropped her corsage on the table right on top of Kaia’s.  She flopped onto the bed, pulling the covers back to let Kaia in on the other side.</p><p>The two of them snuggled in close to one another, trading soft kisses and gentle touches until they drifted off to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fun fact: Marigolds symbolize both dawn and sunrise - new beginnings - as well as grief and mourning. Some complicated emotions for our favourite Wayward Sisters.</p><p>Also, I gave Claire a Pusheen plushie because for some reason my brain just refuses to remember what Grumpy Cat looks like, so I always end up picturing Pusheen instead. Clearly, she was always meant to have a Pusheen plushie and my mind is showing me the truth :p</p></blockquote></div></div>
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